Jim Kirk (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
smartass_captain) wrote2019-11-21 04:31 pm
smartass_captain) wrote2019-11-21 04:31 pm
Entry tags:
Rematches and Requests (for boldygoing)
Who knew planning a wedding could be so much work?
It was different when they signed the paperwork in Yorktown the year before. All the work leading up to that had been forging Felix an identity in this universe. Giving him a paper trail that could be found if anyone asked questions about Jim's partner. Giving Felix himself a crash course in the basics of his world, of Starfleet and it's history, and of the things the man would need to know to safely live aboard a ship like the Enterprise-A. That was necessity.
This? This is just exhausting. Every day Felix comes back to the ship looking more and more frazzled (or back to their room in Bruma the nights they stay over to see the Caelus family for dinner and the like) and all Jim can do is rub his husband's shoulders and remind him that they're nearly done now.
It's Stratos who asks first. Will your family be coming? Jim had done his best to brush it off and not ruin their dinner at the time. They don't know about the Nexus. About Nirn. And even if they Did--no, it's impossible. Their concerns were absolutely valid. How would Jim's mother or brother feel to be left out of something like this? If they ever found out. Which they won't, Jim knows that already. He doesn't like the look Stratos gives him even when the Tribune drops the subject.
Jim's turned the question over in his head several times since. Maybe...he could ask some of the crew to come. Half of them know the truth already, or at least most of it. They're his family. Better than even. The family he chose. The family he found.
Alpha shift has come and went without so much as a dust particle out of place and Jim wonders again. If they want him to bring a relative...well. Jim may not be obeying that wish in spirit, but he does know of one person he's related to that he can stand being in the company of.
The captain pulls out his PINpoint and flicks through it.
Hey, it's me. Fancy a rematch?
It was different when they signed the paperwork in Yorktown the year before. All the work leading up to that had been forging Felix an identity in this universe. Giving him a paper trail that could be found if anyone asked questions about Jim's partner. Giving Felix himself a crash course in the basics of his world, of Starfleet and it's history, and of the things the man would need to know to safely live aboard a ship like the Enterprise-A. That was necessity.
This? This is just exhausting. Every day Felix comes back to the ship looking more and more frazzled (or back to their room in Bruma the nights they stay over to see the Caelus family for dinner and the like) and all Jim can do is rub his husband's shoulders and remind him that they're nearly done now.
It's Stratos who asks first. Will your family be coming? Jim had done his best to brush it off and not ruin their dinner at the time. They don't know about the Nexus. About Nirn. And even if they Did--no, it's impossible. Their concerns were absolutely valid. How would Jim's mother or brother feel to be left out of something like this? If they ever found out. Which they won't, Jim knows that already. He doesn't like the look Stratos gives him even when the Tribune drops the subject.
Jim's turned the question over in his head several times since. Maybe...he could ask some of the crew to come. Half of them know the truth already, or at least most of it. They're his family. Better than even. The family he chose. The family he found.
Alpha shift has come and went without so much as a dust particle out of place and Jim wonders again. If they want him to bring a relative...well. Jim may not be obeying that wish in spirit, but he does know of one person he's related to that he can stand being in the company of.
The captain pulls out his PINpoint and flicks through it.
Hey, it's me. Fancy a rematch?
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And sure, exploring space is exciting and beautiful, but even wonderful things can get a bit samey after a while. He needs... he needs a change of scenery. Even if just for a little bit.
His PINpoint chirps at him as he arrives back at his quarters after his shift, and though an initial flicker of reluctance passes over his face at the thought that something else might need his official attention before he can settle in with a book or something, his spirit is lightened when he sees who it is that's messaged him. It's been well over a year since the last time he met his doppelganger for a chess match, and he'll admit that he's missed his not-quite-brother. And most of his other Nexus friends, if he's honest. Maybe it's time to start making time for social visits again, or else he might never resurface from underneath his ocean of duties until the Enterprise makes it all the way back to Earth.
Sure. Your place or mine?
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Jim hasn't seen nor heard from his younger counterpart in a long while. Hasn't even run into Hunter for updates in almost as long. Short PINpoint messages to check in on the other have been infrequent and besides. There's nothing Jim can ask the other captain that wouldn't be a potential problem insofar as the other's well being. But he remembers how bad the grind got out there before things fell apart.
The Enterprise-A won't be much of a change of scenery, but it'll be something.
I've got coffee on and am digging out the set now. Need anything stronger you just say the word. I'm sure Felix has something stashed around here somewhere.
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Coffee would be great. Be right over.
Zunar meows at him and pads forward to wind himself around Jim's ankles. The kneazle has spent many evenings curled up on his bonded's lap lately, and he's been patiently waiting all day to claim The Lap for a nap. Don't think playing chess gets you out of this duty, mister.
"All right, fine, you too," Jim tells the cat, who wastes no time scaling the human to reach his shoulders, purring. Then it's off to the not-quite-Enterprise, like stepping through the looking glass to someplace not quite familiar.
He's made an effort not to think about whatever catastrophe befell the other ship, and over the last two years he's become busy enough that sometimes it doesn't cross his mind at all. It's a bit of a reminder, though, setting foot in a cabin that's almost but not quite the same as his own, the sound and feel of the engines through the deckplates just subtly different enough that he can't help but notice. But there's also the scent of coffee, and the familiar sight of the chessboard and the man on the other side of it, and that makes it all the easier to settle in across the table. "Sorry it's been so long. Work and all that."
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The older James T. Kirk has just finished setting up the chess board from his preferred seat when he looks up and grins to his counterpart and Zunar. There's going to be quite the trill when Tiber wakes up from his post-snack nap on the bed and thumps down eagerly to come trotting out and see what all the excitement is about. And what's this?! Company??? Brother?!
Tiber brushes against both Jims' legs in a very dismissing sort of greeting before chirping for Zunar to come down already. It's been too long! Whatever let the humans catch up there is a small tour to be had and then hopefully a kitty pile to be made on the Very Best spot in the whole quarters. Or they'll go back to laps, sure. Whichever works.
"Calm down, they'll be over for at least a couple of hours." Jim shakes his head at the kneazle and chuckles. It's a good thing he hasn't followed after Felix this time. Good chance for Tiber to see a friend too. He nods back at the younger captain.
"Coffee's fresh. Not replicated, but why else have a PINpoint?" The comment about their incommunicado makes him shake his head quickly. "Preaching to the choir, believe me. I'm in the thick of it these days, too. I could use a break. Glad I wasn't far off assuming you might want one too."
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"Rank has its privileges," Jim says with a wry grin, claiming a steaming mug for himself. At least, that's the excuse if anyone asks. Or careful rationing, as the case may be. Not that anyone but his inner circle is likely to notice anyway, and there's no need to feed them a line about it. "It's been a while since I've been to the Nexus. I keep meaning to, it just kinda... slips past me. Hunter's been busy lately too, so we don't get much time where we can meet up somewhere."
One thing he hadn't really anticipated when he'd enlisted was how much paperwork there was going to be. It's not difficult or stressful, most days, just... voluminous. And often tedious. As the older captain no doubt is all too aware himself.
Jim blows across the surface of his mug and takes a careful sip, feeling just that little bit better already. "Whose turn is it on white? I can't remember."
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"I'll be honest, I haven't had the chance to go often and usually if I do it's just for food. Almost all of my nonexistent free time has been spent on Nirn helping Felix with family arrangements." Jim ducks his head slightly and rubs at the back of his neck when the prickle of nerves settles over him again.
The chess board is a welcome distraction. Not from demons this time, just mounting stress of current goings on.
"I...don't actually know. Shit, it's been too long." Jim taps at the table a couple of times but the answers don't come any more easily. "You might as well take it this round. We both know it'll change over often enough."
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He hasn't even begun to consider settling down himself, not in that legally binding kind of way. But even so he can't help but think, just for a moment, that it'd be a hell of a lot more straightforward on his end of things, with both himself and Hunter having so little family to wrangle.
Whoo boy, let's not go there. Jim clears his throat and sets down his mug, and leans forward to focus on the board, and shifts a pawn forward. Time to try out one of the better gambits he's been using against Spock during their weekly games.
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"Both. Even with PINpoints we can't always use them without inviting trouble and Felix must be related to half the godsdamned continent. I've only been able to help here and there, obviously. Ship's still got to be run. But Felix has been gone more than he's been home." To say nothing of the work Stratos and their father have had to do as the actual responsible members of the Caelus family. Not that Jim regrets this choice. It's been a hell of an adventure. It's just wearing a bit thin by now.
He'll be glad to see it done.
In truth, the chess set laid out between them is a reprieve for the elder Captain Kirk as well, albeit for very different reasons. The younger wishes to steer very clear from uncertain waters inside his own heart. The elder simply wants to put off turning back to dealing with the wedding for a little while. It's an easy excuse to say he needs to win his right to ask.
Tamriel has a version of chess almost identical to the classical Earth version of the game. Jim's spent more than a couple of evenings by the hearth of the family home in Bruma playing chess with Nereus Caelus and getting beaten handily while he learns the different rules to this more traditional version of the game he knows so well. It's put him a bit out of practice for this. He's slow to respond to the younger Captain's aggressive gambit and spends the entire first round trying to regain ground to fairly good success.
Just not good enough. There's really nothing Bad on the table though this time so while losing stings a little bit at the pride there's no other penalty. They refill on coffee as the elder captain replaces the pieces on the board. His counterpart chuckles at the foreign script in the books laying on the table, one of which he's been rifling through while they were in between matches. The second game takes longer to play than the first as they chat about books each of them has read recently and segue into heartfelt commiseration over the sheer volume of paperwork this mission of theirs generates.
It's a relaxed match. Moreso than any they've played up until now. Halfway through there's a noise from the far side of the quarters where Tiber and Zunar have gotten into a playfight but by the time either captain gets up to check they'll have curled up atop one another at the foot of the bed.
Jim falls back into a more comfortable pace for reacting to board arrangements the longer they play. He'll just barely eke out a win by pivoting to an all out aggressive spread the second he finds himself on the back foot. And Jim almost keeps to the small talk until he notices just how long it's been since he asked his younger counterpart over. The man can't have much free time before he either needs to get back to his paperwork or needs to sleep. Jim knows this because they're the same options lingering in the back of his mind.
He licks at his bottom lip while his eyes scan the board laid out between them.
"I feel a bit bad, you know. I wish we both had more free time. That I could say there wasn't a reason I asked you over other than to spend some time with you." He breaks gaze form the board to give an apologetic sort of half shrug to the younger captain. "Feels even worse because this is fun. I don't think...I still can't wrap my head around getting along with myself. But here we are."
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It takes him a moment to catch on to what the other is saying, the caffeine giving him enough of a boost that he's alert enough to process it, and he sits up a little straighter as his attention sharpens on the other. Nothing too terrible weighing on the other, not that he can tell, but this sounds serious regardless. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Maybe it helps that we're not as identical as we could've been." Big things, little things, more shared territory than not, but they're not an exact reflection of one another. Jim's not sure he could've gotten along with a flawless duplicate of himself either.
Time to cut to the chase. The longer something's dragged out, the worse is usually is. "What's on your mind?"
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"They want me to bring my family. To the ceremony on Nirn, I mean. Even if I had six more months to prep there's no way I could..." Or would want to, in this Jim's case. "The Nexus is too big a thing to just drop like that. To say nothing about Felix's world. I can't ask her. So...I was wondering if you'd come instead. My 'younger brother'. So I'd at least have one blood relation there at the ceremony."
Technically speaking, they are related after all.
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And then he asks that question.
It's so far from what Jim was expecting that he's momentarily thrown for a loop, eyes widening in surprise. He hasn't thought of himself as a brother since Sam left, but... that is what they are here, isn't it? Close enough, at least, and not just because their genetics are presumably identical enough to bypass each other's biolocks. If there are secrets that Jim can entrust to no one else, he knows he can share them with his companion, that he will understand even if no one else will. What is that, if not brothers?
He's still reeling a little from that, but there's also genuine interest in the way he leans forward a little, a flattered sort of smile teasing at his lips. "Wow, that's really... I'd be honored. How would that work, exactly?"
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"I know, it's not exactly the same thing. You and me. But it might as well be. Whether we wanted to be or not we're closer than any relatives either of us has. And we are just about if not as related as identical twins would be despite the gap in age." It's not until his younger counterpart smiles that Jim relaxes. His own smile confident despite how risky this is.
"Well we'd tell the crew--my crew-- about you. They're aware of the Nexus and after the whole Spock thing this shouldn't be That Big of a shock to them. And then have you sit in on the same bare bones crash course we're giving the rest of the crew on Nirnish culture before we arrange to head out. Getting you clothes won't be an issue, you should fit in any of mine. I can introduce you to Felix's family as my brother, Tiberius. I haven't given my middle name over there ever so no reason to have to go any further than that."
Most of it is even technically true, even!
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And how convenient it is that the older captain has clearly already thought about this a lot. That they don't have to fly by the seat of their pants and make up a strategy as they go along. Not that those tend to go badly, but with more prep time to get the story straight, it's actually a really solid plan.
For a brief moment, he can't help but wonder if brother is going to be followed by Sam, but he has enough faith in his companion not to do that to either of them. 'Tiberius' might take a little practice to respond to without the 'James' preceding it, but it could be a lot worse. And even though it's a wedding and there's bound to be alcohol, there's little to no chance he'll let anything slip because of being drunk. "You really have thought this through." He'd be impressed if that didn't imply that he'd ever doubted it in the first place.
Perhaps belatedly, it does occur to him that there's a very important question he should probably ask, given the wide variety of marriage traditions just in Earth. "Is, uh, there anything family's expected to do in the actual ceremony, or just... you know, be there?"
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It's still a Jim Kirk plan.
Though Jim falters at the last question somewhat. He opens his mouth to answer and closest it several times while he tries to think back to everything that's been explained to him about the ceremony to take place.
"I think you're mostly there as a witness. My official representative of the Kirk family. If there's anything more to it than that, they haven't told me."
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